A modular software architecture for UAVs

There have been several attempts to create scalable and hardware independent software architectures for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). In this work, we propose an onboard architecture for UAVs where hardware abstraction, data storage and communication between modules are efficiently maintained. All processing and software development is done on the UAV while state and mission status of the UAV is monitored from a ground station. The architecture also allows rapid development of mission-specific third party applications on the vehicle with the help of the core module

Multi-UAV Integrated Internet of Things System for Generating Safe Map in Post-Disaster

芝浦工業大学2019年

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Modelling and Control Design. A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach

[ES] Aquesta tesi presenta els resultats de la feina de recerca dut a terme sobre el modelatge i el disseny de controladors per a micro-aeronaus no tripulades mitjançant tècniques d'optimització multi-objectiu. Dos principals camps d'estudi estan presents al llarg d'ella. D'una banda, l'estudi de com modelar i controlar plataformes aèries de petita envergadura. I, de l'altra, l'estudi sobre l'ús de tècniques heurístiques d'optimització multi-objectiu per aplicar en el procés de parametrització de models i controladors en micro-aeronaus no tripulades. S'obtenen com a resultat principal una sèrie d'eines que permeten prescindir d'experiments en túnels de vent o de sensòrica d'alt cost, passant directament a la utilització de dades de vol experimental a la identificació paramètrica de models dinàmics. A més, es demostra com la utilització d'eines d'optimització multi-objectiu en diferents fases de desenvolupament de controladors ajuda a augmentar el coneixement sobre la plataforma a controlar i augmenta la fiabilitat i robustesa dels controladors desenvolupats, disminuint el risc de passar de les fases prèvies de el disseny a la validació en vol real.[CA] Esta tesis presenta los resultados del trabajo de investigación llevado a cabo sobre el modelado y el diseño de controladores para micro-aeronaves no tripuladas mediante técnicas de optimización multi-objetivo. Dos principales campos de estudio están presentes a lo largo de ella. Por un lado, el estudio de cómo modelar y controlar plataformas aéreas de pequeña envergadura. Y, por otro, el estudio sobre el empleo de técnicas heurísticas de optimización multi-objetivo para aplicar en el proceso de parametrización de modelos y controladores en micro-aeronaves no tripuladas. Se obtienen como resultado principal una serie de herramientas que permiten prescindir de experimentos en túneles de viento o de sensórica de alto coste, pasando directamente a la utilización de datos de vuelo experimental en la identificación paramétrica de modelos dinámicos. Además, se demuestra como la utilización de herramientas de optimización multi-objetivo en diferentes fases del desarrollo de controladores ayuda a aumentar el conocimiento sobre la plataforma a controlar y aumenta la fiabilidad y robustez de los controladores desarrollados, disminuyendo el riesgo de pasar de las fases previas del diseño a la validación en vuelo real.[EN] This thesis presents the results of the research work carried out on the modelling and design of controllers for micro-unmanned aerial vehicles by means of multi-objective optimization techniques. Two main fields of study are present throughout it. On one hand, the study of how to model and control small aerial platforms. And, on the other, the study on the use of heuristic multi-objective optimization techniques to apply in the process of models and controllers parameterization in micro-unmanned aerial vehicles. The main result is a series of tools that make it possible manage without wind tunnel experiments or high-cost air-data sensors, going directly to the use of experimental flight data in the parametric identification of dynamic models. In addition, a demonstration is given on how the use of multi-objective optimization tools in different phases of controller development helps to increase knowledge about the platform to be controlled and increases the reliability and robustness of the controllers developed, reducing the risk of hoping from the initial design phases to validation in real flight.Velasco Carrau, J. (2020). Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Modelling and Control Design. A Multi-Objective Optimization Approach [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/156034TESI

Development of Autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Platform: Modeling, Simulating, and Flight Testing

The Advanced Navigation Technology (ANT) Center at the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) conducts extensive research in advanced guidance, navigation, and control to exploit the full potential of autonomous Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV). The research in this thesis describes a UAV research platform developed to support the ANT Center\u27s goals. This platform is now the bedrock for UAV simulation and local flight test at AFIT. The research has three major components. The first component is development of a physical, inertial, and aerodynamic model representing an existing aircraft. A systematic analysis of the airframe leads to a complete geometric, inertial, and aerodynamic representation. The airframe analysis included the use of USAF Digital Datcom, an aerodynamic modeling software tool. Second is the development and implementation of a non-linear, six degree of freedom simulation, employing the developed model. Constructed in Matlab/SIMULINK, the simulation enables control design and pre-flight analysis throughout the entire flight envelope. Detailed post-flight analysis was also performed in Matlab/SIMULINK. Additionally, Hardware in the Loop benchmark simulation was constructed and used for initial flight test plans as well as test team training. The third and final component of the research was an experimental flight test program. Both open loop and autonomous flights were conducted. Openloop flights characterized the aircraft dynamics for comparison with the Matlab simulation results. Autonomous flights tuned the autopilot controller through waypoint tracking in preparation for future advanced navigation research and provided data for Hardware in the Loop simulation validation. This report, along with other significant legacy documentation and procedures, builds the foundation from which future AFIT and ANT Center UAV simulations and flight tests are based

A Systematic Literature Survey of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Based Structural Health Monitoring

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are being employed in a multitude of civil applications owing to their ease of use, low maintenance, affordability, high-mobility, and ability to hover. UAVs are being utilized for real-time monitoring of road traffic, providing wireless coverage, remote sensing, search and rescue operations, delivery of goods, security and surveillance, precision agriculture, and civil infrastructure inspection. They are the next big revolution in technology and civil infrastructure, and it is expected to dominate more than $45 billion market value. The thesis surveys the UAV assisted Structural Health Monitoring or SHM literature over the last decade and categorize UAVs based on their aerodynamics, payload, design of build, and its applications. Further, the thesis presents the payload product line to facilitate the SHM tasks, details the different applications of UAVs exploited in the last decade to support civil structures, and discusses the critical challenges faced in UASHM applications across various domains. Finally, the thesis presents two artificial neural network-based structural damage detection models and conducts a detailed performance evaluation on multiple platforms like edge computing and cloud computing

The Borea project: a quadrotor uav cradle-to-grave design for space gnc prototyping and testing

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and, more specifically, n-copters have come to prominence in the last decade due to their several applications. Also, in the automatic control research community UAVs have drawn great attention, since their non-linear and under-actuated nature making them suitable for testing a wide range of control architectures and algorithms. In this paper, prominent theoretical aspects, simulations, and experimental results of the Borea project are presented. The Borea project aims at testing space guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) algorithms leveraging a simplified, rapidly prototypable, low-cost, and easy-to-test quadrotor platform. More precisely, one of the main project objectives consists in testing Moon and Mars planetary landing algorithms, thanks to the similitude, in the command authority and the landing approach, between n-copters and spacecraft; during the propulsive landing phase. Indeed, both n-copters and spacecraft can provide a thrust vector characterized by constant direction and adjustable magnitude. This similitude approach makes it possible to anticipate issues and avoid failures such as those that occurred in the Schiaparelli Mars Lander. To this aim, the complete control unit design, and the UAV plant electro-mechanical prototyping were addressed; so far. Specifically, the control unit was designed within the framework of the Embedded Model Control (EMC) methodology. The EMC design, based on an internal model, also includes the uncertainties as disturbances to be estimated and actively rejected. The Borea UAV has been endowed with a control system leveraging a wide range of automatic control concepts, ranging from modelling, identification, and linear and non-linear control laws, to deal with its position, velocity, and attitude regulation. To sum up, all these results were achieved by means of a properly structured cradle-to-grave design process which, starting from the simultaneous plant modelling and prototyping, ended up with a complete flight tests campaign. Most notably, the testing process involved intensive numerical simulations as well as multi-stage hardware/plant tests and models validation. From the control perspective, the several developed controllers were tuned and tested, via proper simulations and on-purpose flight tests, aiming at validating, from time to time, specific functionalities and control performances. Finally, some results coming from high-fidelity simulations, the hardware and model testing, and in-flight operations are provided to underline the most relevant aspects of the Borea plant and the control unit performance